Page 90 of Sinful Bride

Pasha sighs and nods to her. He says something to Asya, who also nods and eases Taty out of my arms, muttering something about taking her to the bedroom for a nap.

Sofi signals to the men, who drag a half-conscious, bound-and-gagged Conrad out of the room.

“Daphne.” Pasha turns my gaze from their new prisoner to himself. “We need to know. I need to know. What do you want done to him?”

I’m surprised the guy isn’t dead already, to be honest. “Why are you asking me?”

“Because my instinct is to kill him. He crossed far too many lines and will continue to cross them. I’ve killed other men for less. However—” And he sighs on that word. “—he is not my enemy as much as he is yours. This is your call.”

I wonder if he’s saying this out of his own free will. Or if Sofi, or maybe even his mother, nudged him into giving me some say.

Either way, I appreciate the gesture.

And I still feel the weight of what needs to be done.

“He has a family. Parents who will look for him.”

I feel Pasha stiffen in my arms. He knows what I’m leaning towards. “They can be bought. Their silence has a price.”

It’s sad that he’s right. “What about Brittany?”

“What about her?”

I know what that question is really asking. I don’t think I’m ready to go that level of scorched earth. “She’s never lifted a hand to me. Not like this. She’s annoying, but she’s… her.”

Lev comes back to the kitchen and gives Pasha a quick nod. That must be the signal.

“I need to go take care of this?—”

“Wait!” I grab Pasha’s shirt before he fully turns to leave.

“Daphne, I have to do something?—”

“I know. I know.” I smooth my hand over his chest to straighten the puckered fabric. I tell myself he’s right: we have to do something. “I just… Not here, okay? Please? I don’t want death at our daughter’s door.”

I slip my hand into his. Then we walk together into the living room, where Conrad is on his knees and sobbing through his gag.

He whips his head up when he notices me approaching and wails some more, wriggling helplessly in his bonds.

“Idiotyy,” I mutter under my breath. “You brought this upon yourself.”

Sofi smacks him in the back of the head. “We have a place to take him. I just need to know what to do with him after.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Pasha grumbles. He glares at Conrad, who tries to do the same but can’t as much with his two swollen eyes and gagged mouth. “He’s a pig. He deserves to be with his own kind.”

Conrad starts to panic when the men yank him to his feet. He puts up too much of a struggle for them to get him out of the building unnoticed, so Pasha lobs a neck-snapping blow to his head with his fist. He goes out like a snuffed candle.

The compassionate part of me prays he remains unconscious while they feed him to the pigs.

The vindictive part of me…

Well, that part hopes he’s already dead by then.

“Hey.” Pasha tips my face up to look at him. He’s still here, staying behind to be with me while Sofi and their men get the bulk of the dirty work done. “Look at me. Listen: I’m proud of you.”

Hot tears spring to my eyes. I shake my head and try to hide in his chest again. “I can’t believe I let him in here. I shouldn’t have?—”

“Hey. Hey. None of that. Look at me, Daphne. You did everything right.” He kisses the tears from my eyes. “I checked with Lev, and they’re running cameras downstairs. It looks like Ewing snuck in a few days ago. He’s been holed up in some A/C vent access this whole time. There’s no way any of us could have known.”

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